Seven Years
by SweetlyMagnifique
Summary: A look into Poppy Pomfrey's seven years at Hogwarts. Written for the seven years at Hogwarts challenge.
1. Chapter 1

Dear Diary,

I can't believe I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow! I'm actually going to be able to control my magic by using my wand and I'm going to make some friends that are my own age! Mum, Dad and the rest of the family are nice enough, but there are times when I've wanted someone my own age to talk to. I don't know how I'm going to cope with being away from Mum and Dad, I mean I always used to get homesick when I stayed overnight at Granny's house. I've grown up since then though, so I should be alright. I can't wait to see what Hogwarts is like, if it's anything like Dad said it would be, it's going to be amazing!

* * *

September 1st

It was nearing eleven o'clock on and, as always, King's Cross Station was packed as people huddled together as they waited for their trains and as people spilled out of trains that had come to a halt and flooded the platform.

Amongst the crowd stood a family of three. Jayne, Peter and Poppy Pomfrey were waiting for the moment when they could pass through the wall between platforms nine and ten and through the barrier to the Hogwarts express. The moment finally came and the family, along with the girl's trunk and other equipment that was pushed on a trolley, charged at the wall and passed through the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters.

Poppy's eyes stared in wonder at the gleaming red and black train in front of her that was the Hogwarts express. Although she was from a pure blood family, Poppy was still amazed by the commotion. She felt a little sorry for the new muggleborn students who had probably only been caught in a crowd like this when they went to get their school supplies at Diagon Alley. She was shaken from her chain of thought when she felt a hand touch her shoulder and she looked up to see her father who told her that they'd better load her trunk on to the train.

"Dad?" They'd just finished loading her trunk onto the train when she spoke, she wasn't normally this emotional, but she'd never been away from home or her parents for more than two had tears welling in her eyes when he turned to face her.

"Yes, Poppy?" She looked up to his care worn face, she didn't know how she was going to cope with being away from him and her mother, because she got terribly homesick. Hopefully she'd make some friends that would take her mind off her parents, she might find something she loved to do that would keep her occupied or, if she didn't have either of the first two things to keep her busy, she might just get used to being away from home.

"I'm going to miss you." Her tears had started to flow and she saw some brimming in her father's blue eyes. Their family was open with their emotions, but this was unusual for her father. She guessed that her leaving to go to school would be just as hard on her parents as it would be on her. She hugged him tightly and felt him stroke her hair as he spoke.

"Poppy, it's only natural that you'll miss your mother and I. It is, after all, the first time you've been away from us for an extended period of time." She sniffed and he smiled down at her. "If it's any consolation, we'll really miss you too."

"I assure you that we will." By this time Jayne had walked over to them to see what was taking so long.

"I feel like I'm saying goodbye forever." Poppy couldn't really understand why she was crying. Of course she would miss her parents, but she was so excited about going to Hogwarts and finally learning how to control her magic. So she shouldn't really be crying, should she? It wasn't like she was going for good. She'd write home and she'd have letters from her parents so it wouldn't be too bad.

"You'd better get on, love." The time was one minute to eleven and the train was preparing to leave.

"Write to me?"

"We'll write as often as we can, Pops."

As the train started to move Poppy called out hurried goodbyes and assurances that she'd make her parents while waving madly until her parents and everyone else on the platform disappeared from view.

She decided that she'd better find an empty compartment and set off.

After passing lots of full compartments, she was getting nervous about whether she would actually find somewhere when she found a compartment that only had one person sitting by the window. The girl didn't look mean, a little prim, but not mean so Poppy thought it would be ok to ask if she could take one of the empty seats next to her.

"Excuse me?"

The girl looked up and Poppy saw that she had the girl wasn't going to be mean to her like a group of slightly older girls she came across earlier. "Can I-?"

"Of course" the girl said plainly, indicating the seat opposite her. Poppy took the seat and looked at the girl seated before her,noticing that the girl was also studying her. She had dark hair which was pulled into a French plait, teal green eyes that were focused on her and square framed glasses. Once she'd finished studying her, the girl sat back in her seat and Poppy did the same. Each girl looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't want to break the almost comfortable silence that had formed between them.

The girl held out her hand for Poppy to shake. "I'm Minerva, Minerva Adora McGonagall." She said plainly.

Poppy smiled at the girl and shook her hand. "Poppy, Poppy Althea Pomfrey. It's nice to meet you, Minerva."

"Likewise, Poppy. Do you know what house you want to be in yet?"

" Well, my family are mostly Hufflepuffs with the occasional Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but if I had to choose I think I'd want to be in Gryffindor. You?"

" Everyone on my mother's side of the family has been in Ravenclaw, but I think I'd rather be in Gryffindor too."

" What about your Dad's side of the family?" It was odd that Minerva would only mention her mother's side of the family.

"My father's a Muggle." Minerva sounded defensive. It was as if she thought that Poppy was going to ridicule her for being a halfblood. To be honest, she was rather interested in how Muggles lived and how they got things done without magic. " That's nice, I quite liked the idea of a Muggle childhood because lots of pureblood wizarding families are very closed off from the outside world.

The girl smiled for the first time since Poppy had met her. It was only a little smile, but Poppy knew that she'd made a friend. From then on, there was a steady flow of chatter from each of them until just before the train got to Hogwarts when they were lost in their own thoughts of what it would be like and how they'd get sorted into their houses.

* * *

She thought that it was odd as she stood with the other children in the chamber where she and all the other children who were to be in her year. She thought it odd that, as everyone was thinking about how they would soon be sorted into their houses, she wasn't really nervous. Of course, she wasn't totally calm and she naturally had her worries, but she'd expected herself to be a nervous wreck and she wasn't. She felt a little fidgety and could tell that her feelings were shared by every other person around her.

The only person who looked composed was Minerva who was standing next to Poppy, but she could see her hands shaking slightly and she could almost see her reciting every spell she knew in her head in an attempt to focus her mind and stay calm. At least, that's what she thought Minerva was doing. She only hoped that they would be sorted into the same house. She didn't want to lose the only friend she'd made so far, because they were sorted into different houses. She supposed that was part of the reason she'd be sorted into Hufflepuff like most of the other people in her family. It wasn't that she had anything against being in Hufflepuff, but she thought that it would be more exciting to be in one of the other houses.

She was pulled from her thoughts when a man with long auburn hair walked into the chamber and asked them all to line up. He was wearing blue and orange robes and had bright blue eyes.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to look at each of them individually before casting a sweeping look over them and speaking. " We're ready for you all now which is good, because you all look totally nervous." A few people gave a small laugh and he smiled at them all before leading them into the great hall.

* * *

Poppy gazed in awe at everything around her. The great hall was filled with the students of Hogwarts who were chatting amongst themselves or staring intently at them. After being prompted by Minerva (who ended up next to her when all the first years huddled together after they finally entered the great hall) she looked up towards the ceiling. It was as if there was no ceiling there at all and that just made the magic of Hogwarts even more real to her as she'd only ever heard stories about her parents' days at school and that had always made her feel like Hogwarts only existed in her parents' fond memories and stories.

They crowded in front of the head table and watched as Professor Dumbledore brought in a four-legged stool, an old, battered hat and a roll of parchment. He set the hat on top of the stool and stood back and, to her surprise, it started to sing.

After the sorting hat had finished its song about the four houses and the traits of those who belong to each of them, it was time for them to get sorted.

By the time it was Poppy's turn to get sorted, Minerva and a boy named Alastor Moody had already been sorted into Gryffindor and Poppy hoped that she would be sorted into the same house. She could feel her heart thumping as she walked up to the stool and Professor Dumbledore put the hat on her head. Immediately she jumped when she heard a voice in her ear.

"A Pomfrey? Strange, very strange."

"Sorry,but what's strange?"

"You do not belong in Hufflepuff like the majority of people in your family. You have the qualities required, yes, but somehow you don't fit in. There is something more to you."

"What else could there be? I don't have any special qualities."

"You have a good mind, but not good enough for Ravenclaw and you most certainly are not a Slytherin."

"So that only leaves one house..."

"You have the courage, over to them with somewhat shaky legs and took the empty seat opposite Minerva at Gryffindor table and watched as a Sprout, Pomona got sorted into Hufflepuff and as Umbridge, Dolores hopped up onto the stool and looked like a young frog as she did so. Poppy got the feeling that they weren't going to get along very well and this thought was confirmed when she became the newest member of Slytherin house.

After the sorting Professor Dippet, the headmaster gave a few start of term announcements and then said that it was time for the feast to begin. Poppy's eyes lit up as she saw every one of the empty dishes before her filled with almost every food she could think of. Her stomach growled and she didn't realise how hungry she was until she saw the empty dishes magically fill with food, so she helped herself to something to eat and tried to get to know some of the other people sitting by her.

When the feast had ended Poppy and the other first years were led to Gryffindor tower by one of the prefects and they were told all about Gryffindor house's noble history and a little bit about life at Hogwarts before finally being told where the dormitories were, they left the common room to go to bed.

She was happy to learn that she was sharing a dorm with Minerva and Rolonda Hooch, a hawk-eyed girl with an outgoing personality and a sense of humour. She seemed friendly and Poppy could tell that they'd all get along and probably become good friends.

It had been an exhausting day and Poppy fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

* * *

December 17th

"Merry christmas, I really hope that you like them." Poppy half-whispered as she passed a small box to both of her friends as they sat, huddled in a group on her bed. "Do you want to open mine now, before Min gives out hers or do you want to give yours out now an we'll open them when we have them all?"

"I'm all for option B"

"I think it would be best if we opened them all at once"

"Ok, option two it is. We'll open them once everyone's given their presents out."

It was the night before the students were due to leave Hogwarts for the christmas holidays and the trio wanted to give each other their gifts now so that they didn't have to rush the next day, because the train that would take them home left at midday. There was one more member of their group that Poppy, Minerva and Rolonda needed to exchange presents with during that time. Pomona Sprout had become one of their best friends despite being in a different house and it was only fair that she got a present too.

Once each of them had all of their presents, they decided that Poppy's presents would be opened first, followed by Minerva's and finally Rolonda's. Poppy was really excited to see the looks on their faces when they opened their presents. They were her two best friends and the first two friends she'd made at Hogwarts. She really hoped they loved what she'd got them, because she had put a lot of thought into each of them. "Ok, Ro you go first."

She watched intently as Rolonda picked up her present, unwrapped it and her face lit up as she saw the assortment of both muggle and magical sweets and practical jokes. It was well known that Rolonda was a prankster with a huge sense of humor and a liking for muggle sweets.

"Pops, you are AMAZING! These are going to be very useful." She said with a mischievous glint in her eye, "But, what's this?" She asked holding up what looked like a blank sheet of parchment.

Poppy was really chuffed that Rolonda had asked, because the sheet of parchment was the best thing she'd bought in her opinion. "It's a parchment that is charmed to insult anyone who tries to read it that you don't want to, so you can write down all of your evil plans and you can rest assured that no one you don't want to can read them."

Rolonda looked at the parchment and the box of tricks and sweets in awe before a grin spread across her face. She'd started to formulate a plan.

Minerva voiced the thoughts that were going through Poppy's mind as they saw Rolonda's face.

"What have you done?"

Poppy knew that Minerva liked to abide by the rules when she could help it, but she liked to break the rules every so often and, because of her quick mind she came up with the most ingenious schemes which meant that they hardly ever got caught.

"I think I've just given Ro an idea and, to be honest I don't think I want to know what it is. Anyway, Min, you need to open yours next." She was really excited to see her friends reaction to her present and hoped that Minerva would like it. Even though she was a lot more open around herself , Rolonda and Pomona, there was still a restraint there. It was like she didn't want to completely open up around them and Poppy, being very open emotionally, was determined to change that even if it took her all of her time at Hogwarts to do so.

She watched as Minerva carefully picked up the little box that was her present and examined it. Poppy had put a lot of thought into all of her presents but she had to think a lot more about what to get Minerva, because she didn't just want to take the easy way out and get her a book. She saw that the extra thought she had put in hadn't gone unnoticed as Minerva took her time to look at the little box that was wrapped in Gryffindor scarlet wrapping paper and tied with a green tartan ribbon.

She unwrapped it, opened the little black box that held what she was going to get and gasped at what she saw. Poppy watched as she held up a necklace made up of red and gold beads and a silver charm of a tabby cat with green eyes that looked like Minerva's cat, stripes.

"Oh, Poppy. Where did you get this?"

Poppy could tell that she was impressed with her present which made her happy. She was getting through to her, so hopefully Minerva would be less restrained with Pomona, Rolonda and herself in the future. "My mother and I make bracelets and stuff at home and she owled me some extra beads and the charm, but I had the rest here."

Minerva smiled at her. "Thanks,Poppy. It's beautiful. I think it's time for you two to open my presents."

After receiving a book about different healing charms from Minerva (to whom she'd mentioned an interest in maybe becoming a healer or an auror) and a cuddly owl from Rolonda, the trio of friends talked for what seemed like hours about what they were going to do over the holidays, they finally went to bed.

Poppy was excited to finally be going home to see her parents and tell them all about her time so far at Hogwarts and it was with these thoughts going through her mind that Poppy went to sleep.

* * *

April 16th

Poppy woke up feeling terrible. Her head was killing her and her stomach was turning and she didn't know what to do. She needed to go to lessons that day, because she had a theoretical test in charms on everything they'd learnt so far that year. She was worried that if she wasn't there that everyone except Minerva, Rolonda and Pomona would think that she was skiving, because she hadn't revised.

Her mother had told her that if she ever felt really ill, to ask to go to the hospital wing straight away rather than trying to act tough and go to lessons. That was so that she would get some rest and get better sooner, because her mother said that putting stress on yourself when you're ill would only make it worse.

She decided to take her mother's advice and go to the hospital wing. She wasn't going to be missed in class by anyone but her friends so no one really was going to wonder where she was.

She sat up in bed to see that the others were asleep so she scribbled a quick note, on a scrap piece of parchment that was in her bag ,saying that she felt ill and had gone to the hospital wing. She left the note on her pillow where Minerva and Rolonda would find it if they wondered where she was when they woke up.

She put on her dressing gown, crept out of the dorm and made her way out of the common room, towards the hospital wing.

When she finally arrived, Madam Selby was sending a Slytherin girl, Delores Umbridge, away with a stern warning about trying to convince a qualified healer that she was sick, when all she had to do was cast a diagnostic charm to see that nothing was wrong. She knew Dolores, because they were in some lessons together and although they didn't talk to each other much, Poppy knew that she was nothing but trouble.

Delores shot her an ugly look as she passed and Poppy stepped further inside. Madam Selby smiled at her as she turned around to see who was in need of her assistance. She sounded a lot nicer when she spoke to her than when she was talking to Dolores.

"What can I do for you dear?"

Poppy was reminded of why she was there when she felt how tired she was after her walk from Gryffindor tower. Her headache intensified so it felt like someone had put her head in a vice too. "I really don't feel well."

She seemed to believe Poppy, who probably looked terrible and who was in her pyjamas, more than Dolores who was already dressed in her uniform and who looked completely healthy.

"Well, why don't you take a seat here and we'll see what's ailing you, hm?"

Poppy sat on the bed Madam Selby was standing by and she cast, what Poppy supposed was, a diagnostic charm on her.

"You have a mild fever, what looks to be a pounding headache and nausea. In short it's wizard's flu. You'll have to stay here for the next couple of days, dear. So you may as well lie down there and get some rest while I get you some potions for your symptoms."

Poppy gratefully complied and lay down. She sighed with relief as she gently rested her heavy head on the pillow and savoured the feeling of the cool surface against her burning face as she let herself fall asleep.

"D'ya think she's gonna be OK?"

"She isn't dying, Mona. It's just the wizard's flu."

Poppy woke up and opened her bleary eyes to see Pomona, Rolonda and Minerva sitting by her bed and looking at her with concern. Her voice was a little cracked and laced with sleep when she spoke. "What are you lot doing here?"

"Oh, well that's a nice welcome." Rolonda laughed, before pomona slapped her arm and Minerva mock-glared at her.

"How are you feeling Pop?"

Poppy smiled at her, trust Pomona ask how she was feeling staight away. That was her caring, Hufflepuff nature coming through. "I'm fine, I'm just a little under the weather, Pom"

"That's why Madam Selby made a huge fuss about us visiting you, is it?

"Min, really it's not that bad. I'm only here for a couple of days. You really didn't have to come down here..."

"But we wanted to see if you were alright."

"Really, I'm fine, but I'm going to need to catch up on the work I've missed today."

"And any gossip."

"Ro! Well you can copy my notes." Minerva glared at Rolonda and Madam Selby came out of her office and told the girls that they had to leave so that Poppy could get some rest.

Once they'd gone, Madam Selby gave Poppy a potion to help her get to sleep. "You know, I think that I want to be a healer when I'm older."

Madam Selby smiled at her. "Well, if you're serious about it, you could always become an apprentice here"

"Can I really? I'd love that! When can I start?" Poppy was over the moon about getting the chance to finally become a healer.

"Well, you may aswell start in September, because it would be better to start fresh in a new year."

"I'd love to! Thankyou."

They continued to talk about Poppy's apprenticeship and Madam Selby began to make arrangements with the headmaster. This was going to be a brilliant opportunity for her.

* * *

July 18th

It had been a good start to her time at Hogwarts, but Poppy was glad to be going home and to see her parents. Whenever she got homesick, her friends would cheer her up. However, to her the feeling that she had when the train that would take her home pulled out of the station at Hogsmeade was the best feeling ever. Though, of course, she couldn't wait to go back to hogwarts next year.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello, I didn't leave a note on the last chapter so I thought I'd leave you one now:) This was written for the seven years at Hogwarts challenge and, I hope you like it :) Oh and thanks to BITBIT for reviewing the last chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer : Much to my dispair, I don't own Harry Potter...**_

* * *

September 1st

Poppy'd had a brilliant holiday. She got to spend time with her parents and the rest of her family at home, but now she was more than ready to get back to school, see her friends, start her apprenticeship with Madam Selby and get back to her school work.

She was surprised to find that, as much as she missed being at home during the school year and, as much as she feared that as soon as she got home she would never want to leave... she missed her life at Hogwarts.

Therefore, although it was still hard to say goodbye to her parents, it was much easier than it had been the previous year.

After giving her parents a quick hug and telling them that she would see them at christmas time, she boarded the Hogwarts Express with a few minutes to spare before it pulled out of Kings Cross station and took her to Hogwarts.

She waved madly at her Mum and Dad as they grew smaller and smaller until they finally disappeared from view. She found Rolonda, Minerva and Pomona in a compartment near the back of the train, after spending ages looking for them. They'd saved her a seat and once she had been quizzed by her friends about what took her so long, they fell into animated conversation about their holidays and what the coming year would have in store for them until they reached the train station at Hogsmeade.

* * *

"Can you believe that was us last year?" Rolonda said with a grin.

Poppy, Minerva and Rolonda were sitting at Gryffindor table watching the new first years as they were led into the Great Hall by Professor Dumbledore, looking in amazement at everything from the floating candles to the students themselves as they made their way towards the teachers' table.

All, that is except one boy who stood out to Poppy, because he barely looked interested in anything around him. Then he locked eyes with her. He looked like every other boy in the group of new first years, he was slim and he had a crop of chestnut brown hair that was neatly combed so that it lay almost flat atop his head. There was something about his eyes though. They looked hard and cold, but Poppy put it down to him putting up his defences to try and cover up the fact that he was nervous. She tore her gaze away from him and turned to Rolonda, who was trying to get her attention and Minerva, who was looking at her with mild concern.

Professor Dippet tapped his glass. The hall was silent and it was time for the start of year festivities to begin.

* * *

"It's nice to be back isn't it?" Poppy said as she flopped onto her four poster bed in the girls dormitory in Gryffindor tower.

"Yep, what can beat being at school for most of the year?"

"I don't think she wanted an answer, Ro." Minerva said dryly although she had a small smile on her face.

"She might not have wanted an answer, Min, but she's got one now."

Poppy couldn't help but laugh at that. It really was good to be back at Hogwarts. As much as she loved being at home she missed her friends. So,it was good to be back and she had a feeling that this was going to be a good year.

There were a few new Gryffindors this year, including one Hagrid, Rubeus who Poppy could tell was friendly enough, if a little dim. There were two more sortings that she would remember this year too. She couldn't remember what house a girl called Myrtle got sorted into, but it probably wasn't the house she wanted to be in, because she cried and wailed loudly as she walked over to their table. Then there was the odd boy, who's name she discovered was Tom Riddle and he got sorted into Slytherin. His sorting was odd, because he didn't smile as the sorting hat made him a member of Slytherin house, or even breathe a sigh of relief as most students did when they were sorted. She pushed any toughts of the odd boy out of her mind and focused on chatting with Minerva and Rolonda, who was trying to balance all of Minerva's school books on her head. Oh, yes. This year was going to be fun.

* * *

September 6th

Poppy entered the hospital wing to find it completely deserted which was strange, because there was almost always a student trying to convince Madam Selby that they were ill in order to get the day off lessons. Otherwise, Madam Selby would be making the beds or checking her potions shelf to see if there were enough potions if they were needed. Today though, there was no one there. "Madam Selby?" Poppy called. There was no answer so she called a little louder. "Madam Selby? It's Poppy, you said to come and see you today."

Poppy was about to leave when, all of a sudden, Madam Selby came rushing out of her office with an armful of books.

"Oh, Poppy dear. There you are, we'll get started now." She said as she dumped all of the books on the nearest bed and Poppy wondered why she didn't just levitate them, but decided that it would probably be best for her not to say anything.

"Well, all of these are for you to have a look at." Madam Selby said with a smile. "I thought that you might be interested in reading about some of the theories put forward about magical healing and that, maybe you'd be interested in reading about some of the unusual conditions that are encountered by the staff at nearly every day."

Poppy just stared at the pile of books that had just been dumped in front of her. How was she supposed to read all of these? There would surely some parts of these books that she would find incredibly boring and that she'd barely be able to read. It was nice of Madam Selby to get all of these book for her, but Poppy wasn't sure if she would be able to read through them all. It wasn't in her nature to complain though so Poppy just smiled at the witch in front of her.

"Thanks a lot. When would you like me to read all of these by?"

"It's no problem, dear and don't worry, you won't have to read all of every book. I've made a list of all the interesting parts and of all the parts you'll probably need to know."

Poppy couldn't help but smile wider as Madam Selby handed her a piece of parchment with a list of different topics and cases along with which book they were in and the corresponding page number. "Thanks, this will help me out a lot."

"It really isn't a problem, I've been through this before so I'm going to do my best to make it that little bit less tedious. Now, I think we'll start off with something simple. I'll teach you how to cast a diagnostic charm. You never know, it might come in handy one day if you think one of your friends is ill or something. So shall we get started?"

"Yes please."

Poppy was in the hospital wing for hours trying to perfect the diagnostic charm that she was learning to cast and Madam Selby even let her test it out on a first year Ravenclaw and it turned out that she was fairly accurate when her results were compared with Madam Selby's and it was then Poppy realised that she could succeed in her career as a healer.

* * *

April 18th

Poppy was going about what she called her 'routine' work in the hospital wing. This work consisted of the basic jobs that needed to be done in order to maintain the high standard of cleanliness needed in order to aid the recovery of any sick students.

She had just finished making the last of the beds when she heard footsteps coming towards her from by the doors. She turned around to see who it was and saw the odd boy from the beginning of the year - Tom Riddle.

"I am awfully sorry to bother you, but is Madam Selby here?" He was awfully polite and Poppy thought that it was rather sweeth that he would apologise for disturbing her work even though he was feeling ill and despite the fact that it was actually her job to help Madam Selby make him feel better.

"Yes, Madam Selby is here but at the moment she's talking to Professor Slughorn about getting some potions that we're in need of." She smiled at him and he gave her a weak half smile in return. "I might be able to help you though." She smiled again. "I'm Madam Selby's apprentice so if you tell me what's wrong, I could see if I can help you, Tom is it?."

He looked a little apprehensive, but decided that it was safe to tell her what was wrong. " Yes, it is. I'm not really sure what's wrong, but I feel really sick."

"Why don't you take a seat right there" Poppy said pointing to the bed in front of her. "And I'll cast a diagnostic spell." Poppy had mastered the use of a diagnostic spell last month and she was quite pleased with herself for doing so.

The boy did as he was told and sat on the bed that Poppy had indicated. Poppy's diagnostic charm indicated that Tom had a bad case of Wizard's flu so she went over to the shelf on which Madam Selby kept all of her potions (she had been given permission to give students potions for simple things like the flu after she had mastered the use of her diagnostic spell.) She made her way back over to the boy and handed him several phials.

"What are these?" He asked suspiciously. It was as if he thought that Poppy, a person who barely knew him and who had no reason at all to have a grudge against him, would give him potions that would hurt him.

"A fever reducer and a headache potion among a few others that will help with your symptoms." She explained calmly and this seemed to be an adequate explanation as he opened each phial, downed it's contents and handed it back to her before crawling under the covers.

"What's your name?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked what your name was. You know mine and I haven't introduced myself, so it's only fair." he said sleepily.

"My name's Poppy, Poppy Pomfrey."

"It's nice to meet you, Poppy Pomfrey. I'm Tom. Tom Riddle." He said as he drifted of to sleep.

"Nice to meet you properly, Tom." Poppy whispered. She supposed that this introduction meant that she'd made friends with the strange little boy. She smiled at him before leaving to go and find Madam Selby.

* * *

July 20th

As Poppy sat on the Hogwarts Express, waiting for it to take her home and waiting for Pomona, Rolonda and Minerva to find the compartment she'd saved for the four of them. She offered to go down to the train and save the compartment, because she had already done all of her packing the night before and it would also give her some time to reflect on the past year.

As she looked out of the window she thought about all she had achieved that year. Madam Selby had said that she had come on in leaps and bounds since she first started her apprenticeship in September, she'd also gained relativley high marks on all of her exams and she was immensley proud of them even if those results weren't really important. Gaining them was still a good achievement. Overall, she thought that her second year at Hogwarts had been quite a successful one. She had managed to totally adapt to life at school and she had started to consider Hogwarts as her home away from home which was an achievement in itself, because she had found that so hard during the previous year.

She heard a knock and looked up to see that Minerva, Pomona and Rolonda had finally found her so she beckoned them inside and she couldn't help but smile as Minerva entered first and slowly took her seat with a very dignified maner. Then when Pomona tried to copy, she was pushed into her seat by Rolonda who then jumped into hers. This incident caused them all to laugh out loud and it sparked a conversation that lasted until the Hogwarts Express reached platform nine and three-quarters.


End file.
